The L Word
by Luminous Circus
Summary: L finds it hard to talk about love objectively when it concerns OC Kae. L x OC


Hello, hello and welcome. This is an L fic involving an OC. I am pleased to present you with a new updated version.  
LC 2009

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Kaelynn had always had an insatiable appetite for words. She had always enjoyed reading; even as a child at Wammy's she had an extraordinary interest and quickly devoured every book within her reach. Novels, poetry, broadsheets, tabloids, essays, fact and fiction. She picked up French at a young age from literature she had found in the library and the assistance of a giant dictionary that she couldn't even lift by herself. By the age of nine, she was practically fluent in French and noticing her talent, Wammy arranged for a tutor to teach her Chinese and Japanese. She had lessons four times a week on top of English literature and language classes and continued to glide through her studies.

She had a commendable vocabulary for any adult by the time she hit her early teenage years and naturally, she was a brilliant speaker. Language gave her power. When one of the younger children was crying, she would always be able to comfort them. If she was ever in an argument, she could win. She enjoyed the influence that having such good control of her words gave her and realized the power she wielded through them. Despite this, she was not a talkative girl, so she was surprised when Wammy asked her a favour.  
"Speak to L," he said. "Just for a little while each day."

So she had. At first, he hadn't responded and she had wondered whether he even understood her. He considered social aspects of life like this unnecessary, even at such a young age, but eventually, his short utterances grew and she began to enjoy conversations with him. She taught him games that she hadn't found anyone to play with before – guessing a word by its dictionary definition or it's synonyms in the thesaurus and little by little he began to quite like the idea of having a friend. Especially one who always understood him. Maybe that was why more than ten years later, she was still by his side.

Leaving her past aside, Kaelynn, or 'K' as she had become known over the time she'd been involved in the Kira case, was sitting cross legged in the corner of one of the sofas in the hotel room, silently flicking through a pocket dictionary and observing her work partner and childhood friend. L perched in his usual crouching position on the opposite side of the sofa, unblinking eyes focused on the screen of his laptop as his long fingers tapped at the keys.

"L, L, L…" she muttered, disturbing him from his work. "L stands for large in clothing or when ordering food and drink and for learner drivers."  
"What."  
"Why L? L is for words like lavish, lawless, lazy… lewd." She frowned. He peered over the screen at her.  
"Do you want to play the dictionary game?" he asked, closing his laptop with a snap. It was the first time she'd seen him turn it off since they'd started on this case. She held out the dictionary to him. "You go first."

He flicked through the pages, picking one at random. "Noun. Which C," he began, "is an area or angle where two converging lines or surfaces meet?"  
She hardly hesitated. "A corner."  
He nodded and passed the dictionary back to her.  
" What E would describe a puzzling thing or person?"  
He chewed this thumb in concentration.  
"Do you want a hint?"  
"Yes please."  
"An E machine is used to encrypt or translate secret messages."  
"Enigma. Enigmatic."  
Her eyebrows rose. "Not bad."  
"What S – "  
And so the game continued.

It had been a long time since he smiled or talked about anything apart from work and it had been a long time since she had been able to truly relax around him. Sometimes he was a suffocating person to work with. He would sap the workers' energy, insult them and indicate that they were worthless to him – even her. Even though she knew what he was like by now, it still got tiring. She really just wanted to enjoy being with him. So what about the case? And what about Kira? But she knew that nothing satisfied him as much as solving a case. She was wasting his time.

"Just one more," he said. "Then I must get back to work. I think I've got a lead. Besides, it's late. You should get some rest. You remember that I need you to represent me tomorrow?"  
"Of course." There was going to be a television debate regarding the case and role L was playing. She was proud to represent him and argue in his place.  
"I'll make sure it- you're safe."  
His stumbling on his words shocked her. She quickly analysed it in her head. He was going to affirm that the situation would be safe but at the last minute changed. Was he suggesting that he would keep _her_ safe? She hadn't misunderstood, had she? Maybe she shouldn't think too hard about something so small. But he was not a person who usually spoke without thinking and he knew she was perceptive.  
"Last one," he repeated, fumbling through the pages. "How about a K word? Oh this is too easy…I'll make it harder," he smiled. "Verb, to touch affectionately, often in greeting with love of passion." He couldn't help his voice faltering slightly as he said the word 'love'. When it came to her, it was not easy to talk about it objectively.  
She frowned.  
"Why do you keep frowning at me today?" he asked curiously. "Are you angry?"  
"No. I'm having to think a lot today."

She was sure she knew what it was, but she was afraid to say it. She was almost never wrong, but what if she _was_ wrong? She looked away from him nervously.  
It was silent. Silent and still, as if they were frozen.  
"I'm not trying to trick you," he murmured softly as he shuffled towards her. He traced along her jaw with a long index finger, but she remained motionless. He was hesitant. This was very unlike him and although he didn't want to make assumptions, she was probably surprised. It was too late to think about going back now though – but then, he couldn't help but feel relieved when her stillness finally melted as his lips ghosted across hers. It was on the whisper of a kiss, but she wanted to hear every word.  
"You're not frowning anymore," he stated.  
"No. I like you best when you've just solved a case."  
He smiled, unable to hide his satisfaction.

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